(I know I just put something up for weight loss but this is kind of irrelevant to that.) What do you do to get yourself in a financial cushion? I've tried applying for a loan but my student loans, even with them deferred have been keeping me from doing so. I've also only barely have been living in my unit for under a year and most places require you to live there for two years. I do use Food Stamps, but we only get so much out of the month, and it is barely enough. I do work full time and part time, considering on picking up a third job on top of juggling with school starting back in January... I still have three-four other bills I have to pay and I've barely put anything in for rent for the month of November. On top of all of this, we (my boyfriend and I ) kind of have to go to Maryland for Thanksgiving to see some of his family. We've already made promises...and its one of those things that cant be broken regardless of the situation x_x

My boyfriend is also a full time student putting in about 80 hours a week into his schoolwork. And his job has been giving him -no- work at all. I am in serious stress out mode because I've had to take my brother, his wife and their baby into our little condo because they are getting evicted due to their own financial struggles. My brother did manage to get a job but he is just now starting this one and it is only part time.

We live on top of a mountain so the weather here is already beyond cold and we have NO winter clothes. The baby doesn't even have anything warm enough for him and his mother will put him in shorts. (but this is another argument to toggle with later.) We don't have a 4-Wheel drive and we need one desperately, even if it is a piece of crap but something to get us around and going through the rough weather.

So I started up this thing: http://www.gofundme.com/hgtiao But I'd rather not just ask for a hand out because its kind of embarrassing and my mom and grandmother have already given me grief over it. My mom blatantly told me: "This makes you look weak and needy." ... yet I'm offering to produce artwork in exchange because that's all I have to offer at the moment. I'm not sure if this is going to work 100% either...

What helps you get out of a rut?
I have trying to keep up with the communication but it only goes so far. ... I kind of want to go into a hole and cry forever as well ._. I feel like there is no way out of this and that I'm just going to be completely screwed.

- I can feel your pain. I'm struggling right now too financially.

Over the summer, I moved out of my mom's for a bit. I thought my job would have work, but there was nothing. On top of that, I couldn't get a job somewhere else. I fell into a lot of credit card debt and became unable to pay my bills.

I had to move back in. What makes this so much worse is how verbally abusive my mom is. While I have more work now, I'm still so behind on payments. I can barely afford food. My mom makes me feel like I'm a terrible person every day. My boyfriend wants me to stay with him, but I can't because he lives with his parents and they won't allow me to stay. He also doesn't have the means to move out.

The only reason why I'm still alive is my boyfriend. He means the world to me, and I can't bear the thought of hurting him. When he's not around and I feel like being alone, I like to listen to music and watch Youtube videos. If I'm feeling okay enough to be socialable, I'll play on Subeta or hang out with friends if they're available.

I wish I had some sort of advice, but I can't find help neither. It's so hard to get a job. The government nor anyone else wants to help me. I'm stuck.

I wish you the best of luck in you getting out of this situation. At least you're a step ahead of me.

It might be helpful to take a look into any other government aid (in addition to the food stamps) offered through your state. In my state, I was able to apply for heath benefits when I was working a part time job that didn't offer anything, and my husband was laid off. That seriously helped my husband and I through one of our difficult times, because I was pregnant at the time, and there was no way we would have been able to pay for any hospital bills.

That particular program was just for health benefits, but there were other programs offered as well. It would be worth taking a look into.

For the record, I don't think creating that help group is "weak and needy". There are plenty of people out there who have the money and would like to help out others, and it's not taking advantage of them to ask for help. It would be a little different if you were just asking for money so you could buy a giant TV or the latest smart phone. Most people have been in some sort of financial crisis during their lives, so it's perfectly acceptable to ask for help.

One more piece of advice, and I don't know your situation well enough to know if this is relevant, but take care of yourselves first. It's nice to be able to take in relatives when they're struggling, and a lot of times there is no other choice, but ultimately you need to think of your own selves first. If you can't afford to help out friends or relatives, it's not your responsibility to do so. I hope your brother and his family are at least helping out in some way while they are staying with you.

Stay strong - All the best!

Don't apply for a loan if you can't keep up with the repayments - that will just put you into a pit of despair worse than you are in now!

I'm the kind of person that just spends freely and doesn't really think about money but early this year, I realized that I have lived for the past 10 years in debt because of this attitude and I had a light bulb moment like...what the heck am I doing with my money?! o.o So I joined up to this website called moneysavingexpert.com and it really helped me out a lot! The people there are really great at helping you slash your budget - it's a uk website but I think you can use it!

Basically you do a SOA (statement of affairs) and list ALL of your incomings and outgoings and they will show you where you can make cuts.

The biggest cut backs for me where -

*getting rid of my contract phone and going to a sim only deal. I was paying £45 every month on my contract, but they helped me find a deal where I get unlimited data/texts + 500 minutes for £12 a month.

• I used to buy at least 2 coffees and 2-3 bottles of diet coke EVERY DAY. Now I buy the multi pack cans of coke and a jar of coffee and make my own while I'm at work

• I was spending between £5-£10 a day on food at work - Now I bulk cook or make sandwiches and bring my own lunch from home

• I smoked cigarettes which were £6.49 PER DAY, Then I switched to roll my own which is £9 per week.

But you can do other things like...if you have cable, then downgrade a package or cut it out completely and go freeview/terrestrial

Check comparison sites to make sure you are getting the best deals for gas/electricity/insurance etc

Check and make sure you are getting any benefits that you may be entitled too.

Do you have friends that are in the same situation? Have you thought about car pooling to save costs on petrol?

Selling old clothes on e-bay to get money for new winter clothes?

Do you do any sorts of arts/crafts/making things? You can open a shop (on etsy or e-bay for example) and try selling your things for some extra cash.

Maybe you could try survey sites? I use swagbucks.com and it's really slow and boring but over the year, from like an hours work a day, I've built up enough to cash out £80 in amazon vouchers (or any other vouchers, I just prefer amazon :)) - just for answering a few questions :) They can be frustrating when you get kicked out of a survey for not being the right age, gender, live in the right area etc but it's something to put towards x-mas this year!